People in the company of Clark County prostitutes collectively reported having $1.4 million in cash and goods stolen from them during the first nine months of this year — dupes of a larceny genre better known to police as the “trick roll.”

By year’s end, it’s estimated the total reported losses will exceed $2 million — almost double last year’s total, and probably a fraction of the real amount.

How many people file police reports, after all, when their prostitutes disappoint?

Enough, at least, for Metro vice detectives to determine the problem is getting worse, and assign two detectives to trick roll investigations exclusively. They’ve gotten roughly one case every day this year. In 2007 it was more like one a week.

That increase could have something to do with the economy. Fewer tourists with less money means supply exceeds demand. Prices drop and competition ratchets up for prostitutes, many of whom police say must meet nightly quotas set by pimps. Metro Sgt. Donald Hoier, though, says the problem picked up before the economy fell, simply because Clark County was saturated with sex workers and outlets for illicit entertainment.

When everybody scrambles for the same pool of money, bad seeds take short cuts.

Consider the reported losses Hoier reads from a list of cases: $10,000 in cash, casino chips and a laptop; $30,000 in cash and chips; $20,000 Rolex; $6,000 Rolex; $5,000 cash; and — perhaps the most interesting, a case Hoier can only hint at — $175,000 in casino chips.

These are preposterous amounts, which is probably why they were reported in the first place.

Sometimes these are crimes of opportunity. A watch is left out, a laptop is folded in the corner.

But there are prostitutes for whom sex is only a pretext to theft, and others who have no intention of sleeping with their clients, Hoier said. They know how to exploit angles and mirrors to see safe codes being punched, while others, Hoier says, actually become good at identifying the tones assigned to each number on the key pads.

“While he’s in the shower,” Hoier says, “she’s taking everything.”

Drugs are slipped into drinks. Clients are escorted to ATMs for payment, only to find their cards have been stolen by someone who surreptitiously saw the pin number. Two women come to one room and run lewd tactical diversion.

But sometimes it’s just a matter of violence.

Prostitutes have pulled guns. Pimps, waiting nearby, Hoier says, have beaten people just shy of death.

All of this is easier to accomplish when the target fits a preferred profile: intoxicated and alone.

Susan Lopez, founder of the Las Vegas chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project, a national group dedicated to sex workers’ rights, said the economy is definitely a factor in the uptick.

“There are a lot of transient sex workers who come here because they think it’s going to be more profitable,” she said, adding that it’s widely felt that “most of the people who are committing these infractions are pimped women, and women who answer to somebody.”

Women who steal from their clients give a shamed industry a bad name, Lopez said, much to the frustration of local, independent sex workers who take their occupations, and reputations, seriously.

At the same time, however, “the girls kind of feel like it’s the guy’s own stupid fault — when desperate and drunk people get together, they don’t have a good time.”

For the record, Hoier says, trick rolls happen everywhere. High- and low-end casinos, on the street when a prostitute brings a client down a dark alley, and outside strip clubs, when dancers go home with clients.

In one case, a couple having an affair in Las Vegas hired a prostitute. The female client later realized her engagement ring, purchased by her fiancee back home, was stolen.

In a different case, a woman approached local men in nightclubs, spent weeks getting to know them (and the layouts of their homes), then drugged them before executing high-dollar burglaries.

There’s often a gap between the theft and the time it’s discovered, which complicates things for police. Even when clients realize right away, prostitutes have vanished down access stairs and out emergency exits, avoiding notice or handing the goods off to someone else.

Getting people to come forward is another problem. To this end, police carefully explain, misdemeanor crimes, like soliciting a prostitute, only lead to an arrest when they occur in the presence of police. Other trick rolls are never categorized as such, because johns hide their real relationships to the thieves.

When cases are opened, they often reveal other related crimes. Lately, for example, trick rolls are feeding identity theft. Other times, thieving prostitutes lead vice detectives back to violent pimps.

“It happens more than you’d probably think,” Hoier said. “A lot of women would rather steal from these guys than work as prostitutes.”

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I would divide the figures mentioned in half , or maybe :10, and then we might get a more accurate estimate of how much money is stolen. it's simple to accuse a prostitute for having stolen something when you in fact lost it at the gaming tables.

Who would carry 10,000 usd in cash when taking a stranger in your room? Gimme a break, but the people who do that are dudes and deserve to get "lifted".

Or you can get robbed a little bit every day by getting close to a woman who said she quit working at a ranch over the rock. She'll even let you get close to her and close to her kids she said she loved,... for whatever she can get, gifts, cash, anything. Then when that ends and the cash is gone she goes back over the rock. The only pimp she ever see's is herself in the mirror and her two unsuspecting kids reflecting in it. They have a vast array of ways to steal from people.

The majority of these girls working in the casinos are known to the casinos and should be liable for putting the patrons in harms way. I have seen the same girls walking the stretch from the Orleans to the Strip on Trop for years, smiling and waving as i pass. I guess the cops dont see them, or the cops just dont want to enforce the law, or they get busted and are back at work within hours. My recommendation would be to enforce all the laws across the board and not enforce only the ones they want. Arrest and incarcerate criminals.

until clark county grows up and realizes prostitution goes on hundreds of times per day on the strip and legalizes it with licenses, designate a "brothel zone", and collects tax money from it then all these poor suckers had it coming.

Hum something suspect about this article. Prostitutes stealing a Rolex or a few chips I could invasion but the large sums mentioned I call bull.

The casinos have too much security so I doubt very much these crimes occurred and if they occurred at the casinos, they'll be on camera and will be caught, facial recognition. The amount stolen in chips when large denominations are stolen, it would be hard to convert without being caught.

If what they say is true then we need to demand our elected officials to legalize prostitution. It is the oldest trade and was once legal; the moral gods made it illegal and enabled the criminal elements to prosper and clog up the courts with crimes that is otherwise avoidable.

These is still a minor problem considering how many ho's are working Las Vegas. Many lovely and well reviewed girls provide excellent service and are trustworthy, they actually review prostitutes. Too bad there are no reviews for other suppossed professionals. What about the Johns not paying the girls? Is this an issue for Metro's limited resources?Only corporations, banks, and casinos can "trick roll" people in this town. I'd rather take my chances on a Ho and at least get some action.

I wonder how many whores get trick rolled by the John? You think the hooker walking in to report they didn't get paid would actually happen? Make it legal and regulate in a secure place so we can make it right for everyone.

How funny well that's what both of them get.This is a useless article if you ask me.Do the john's come in and make police reports(stupid)or is it the hookers who are trash anyway for selling themselves.Both illegal acts if they fill out reports then file criminal charges on both parties.What a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Why is this story front page headlines...this is another reason why no one regards the Sun as a real newspaper, in spite of awards. Really? Front page, Number One Story! Metro and Hotel Security can easily keep these pros out of the hotel lobby's and bars...they are so obvious. Management just needs to get serious about doing their job. And, further the Sun...no front page mentions of elections yesterday which are headlines in every other newspaper in the Country...oh, I forgot...The Sun is Democratic and Brian is really upset about Virginia and New Jersey..these victories mean something!

Stevem, you're right! Legalize it, regulate it, segregate it and tax it! Oscar Goodman wishes to do exactly that; establish a red-light district downtown. Many cities in Europe (Amsterdam and Hamburg for example) have been doing this for decades. In Holland, the sex workers have their own labor union. No tricks get rolled, no women get beat up by pimps, everyone stays healthy, the government receives revenue and doesn't waste resources on enforcing asinine laws.Makes a lot of sense, but you wouldn't want to hang by a rope waiting for it to happen here in the US.

30 yrs. ago a group of guys I know pitched in for a prostitute at a friends bachelor party. She stole grooms' cash for the honeymoon from his wallet in back pocket while performing oral sex. Everyone at the party had to pitch in a lot more cash so the bride wouldn't find out.

Here was this girl passing me while I was at the Palms the other night. She appeared like talking to someone on the other side of her cell phone line....in fact, however, she was talking to me. And she asked me something like....."guess where we're going to next ?". I was totally perplex because in the first instance I thought she was talking to someone. Figuring the context and the situation it was clear what her intentions were.

Must be tough to do this job in a city where it's officially illegal but where money is sooo looooose to the tourists seeking fun.

To all of the real fun seekers: Check back with Macau. There are casinos that have it completely legalized inside as there seem to be no restrictions on the private properties. So, once you hit a nice run of cards on b-j, get your babe and get ready for some quick trick in your hotel room.

Yes, this is not new. Prostitutes and their handlers will do whatever it takes to maximize their income. Many do not have any respect for their tricks and are therefore fair game for a fleecing. If the author wants to consider the estimated millions that is stolen, you should also consider how many people would not come to LV if pros were not readily available. Available hookers is part of the draw to LV. Maybe in that calculation, there is still a net gain for businesses on the strip. Security should at the very least make it their business to know who the players are and weed out those who are suspected of robbing their clients.

Consider the reported losses Hoier reads from a list of cases: $10,000 in cash, casino chips and a laptop; $30,000 in cash and chips; $20,000 Rolex; $6,000 Rolex; $5,000 cash; and -- perhaps the most interesting, a case Hoier can only hint at -- $175,000 in casino chips.

I hear it everynight how some of these chicks plan out how there gonna take it to a john!They slip him a roofy,call there pimp,and then roll the guy!In the long run these ladies get beat if they dont get a more richer guy,and there pimp keeps all the money!I for one call metro when i see them,as well as get a lisence plate!Its the pimps makeing all the money and the ladies get the jail time!GO AFTER THESE SO CALLED WANNA BE PIMPS!YOU SEE THEM ALL THE TIME,THERE THE ONES WITH THE FOIL ON THEIR TEETH,AND THE PHONEY JEWELS AND SILVER ON THEIR NECKS!!!

I know of a person that was at Paris Las Vegas in 2006 and he was a victim, but in a different type of scenario as he wasn't solicited, just inticed....

They have 'shills' and 'tag teams' that hang in these major hotels as I learned, as this chick became very friendly with this person for an hour's company within the casino floor, as she even invited him to 'her room' in which he accepted....

Upon entering 'her room', he was immediately subdued by three big assed thugs and wrestled to the bed where he was shackled and handcuffed, and then two more guys suddenly appeared who were naked and proceeded to rape him on the spot....

The victim watched one of the naked guys count out $1,000 in cash to the woman that lured him to that room as she smiled and waved at him saying "have fun" and left the room.

Needless to say the victim was then drugged in between time and found himself at the Green Door parking lot inside a parked car, not remembering how he ended up there.

This guy was also engaged and planning to marry (a woman) and decided never to report the incident to keep it out of public record cuz she worked for the feds.

I was laughing.. while thinking (o o o O DANG) at the same time when I was told this.

despite being illegal, our local govt. doesn't seem to care about prostitution. just walk up and down the strip and look at all the hooker comic books, baseball cards, and mobile billboards (not to mention the local yellow pages).

I guarantee that 75% of the men that posted or will post on this have paid for some form of sexual activity, whether it be hand release or other. You cannot deny it. And to the fools that said "damn, these guys must "suck, be ugly" or whatever, have most definitely paid for it one way or another. They just like to make everyone think they've never gone to the VIP room at the strip club and gotten a hand job for $50. Don't lie guys...you've almost all done it.

Legalize, regulate, and tax. The world's oldest profession isn't going to go away -- might as well figure out how to control it so that associated crimes (robbery, assault, coercion, sex slavery, child endangerment/abuse) can be more effectively addressed and suppressed.

Same for marijuana by the way. Another lost cause. It's no worse than alcohol and tobacco, and those who choose to abuse are going to have problems whether it's legal or not.

Are we supposed to feel sympathy for these morons for getting ripped off by illegal whores? Especially when they can drive across the county line and get their nut busted legally and cleanly? These idiots got what they deserved. Hopefully they didn't end up taking diseases to their unsuspecting wives/girlfriends back home

..I believe that these sex Industry oriented articles are on the front page due to the fact that they have a major "guy convention" the SEMA show, and the PBR in town right now and is just a general heads-up to out-of-towners of what to expect if/when they interact w/some of these female "Lions in sheeps clothing" and their handlers.

Prostitutes definitely do not deserve the bad sort of press they do. They definitely don't need the stereotype of the rough looking, coarse tongued sluts we see in movies. There are many so called 'respectable' married women who would equally fit such a description.

Prostitutes are no different to any other worker. They can be of either sex; they are providing a service and working hard for their money. It is not a job I would like to do...but then each to their own. However if I were a female and my family were hungry and alternative employment was not available then I would. Think on. A Nurse in Nevada can expect a salary of $2,500.00 to $4,000.00 monthly; a prostitute can earn that in a day.

Prostitutes have children, boyfriends, husbands and families to support. They have bills to pay, food to buy, movies to see, houses to build, schools to pay, clothes to buy. Yes, exactly like you and me.

And no, they don't sit around in sleazy disarray talking about disgusting things. They are people, just like you and I.

They are religious too and pray before they go to work and when they come back.

Prostitution hides behind a variety of names. Escort, Bar Girl, Masseuse, Go Go Dancer, Hostess, Entertainer. Of course many of them are just that and no more but there are prostitutes among them.

To them prostitution is 'work'. That's how they talk of it. "I have a customer, I am going to work".

From my point of view, neither party is doing anything to create jobs nor with our current economic times and knowing that Obama won't going to create any jobs in the USA, it about time Clark County steps up to the plate and do whatever it takes to generate positive cash flow, they need to legalize prostitution. Many families who are facing poverty or poverty is knocking at their door now have a viable option to generate a good income for their family and not have to rely on the government or break the law to survive.

To Its2hot:....Not trying to cross ya, guy, but I've driven a cab here in this wonderful village of ours for 14 years, and while you may be speaking for a percentage of call-girls of probably the higher caliber that work the strip, but probably work for an agency also,...Some of those hoes' are the most obnoxious, low-class, dirty people you could run into, I don't care how good they look, and I would go a step further to say that not all, but a good percentage of them are "property" of a gang, whether from out of town just here for the event or convention or live here, thats why you see so many ganstas' on their cell phones outside these major resorts during those periods, they are the ones held accountable for the saftey of their "property", and even more make sure to keep a running tab on money flow so as not to short-change their superiors....

david1961, i agree. slavery aside, any woman that basically lets herself become the "property" of a gang or anyone else is clearly damaged. from the higher level agency hookers to the aforementioned bottom of the barrel, you've got to have some serious issues to barter your sexuality like that.

For those of you who stupidly believe legalized prostitution here in Clark county will somehow prevent or stop the tens of thousands of local girls or the thousands of others who fly in on weekends from plying their trade are simply ignorant fools.

Turning Clark County into one big whorehouse will not only make the problem worse but will drive off countless numbers of visitors who will take their business elsewhere.

Prostitutes pimped out by the kind of people your mother warned you about are a serious problem and should be dealt with.

uh, has no one ever heard of the hotel safe? if your too dumb to lock up your valuables then you deserve to lose them. and I bet maids steal more then prostitutes but that would make for a boring story.

dwms, the Johns are not THE only criminals in prostitution. Barring the incidence of theft, you cannot take two people who willfully participate in an illegal activity and call one a criminal and the other a victim based purely on gender.

Anyway, prostitution is a misdemeanor. Burglary and theft are felonies. Much more serious crimes.

Also notice that this does not happen at the legal brothels outside Las Vegas. Does that tell you something?

The risk of abuse (to both parties), in prostitution, resides in its illegality. However, there is an unholy alliance between religious zealots and feminists who oppose legalization for thier own reasons and do NOT want to recognize that.

Been to Vegas many, many times. Sad situation that these girls/Johns got into but you get what you deserve sometimes. The girls risk disease, beatings and abuse from their John's and pimps. The free-lance hookers risk even more when they cross paths with pimped-up girls. Truth is a lot of the girls work for Mex & African gangs from L.A. and Vegas. High rollers can still have a girl sent to their room while the same hotel tosses out some not-so connected hookers who haven't hooked-up with the right businessman.

To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread;

It was 6:00 A.M. in the Stardust Casino on the dollars Five Times machine. I had just arrived about fifteen minutes earlier from a harrowing overnight drive across the Mohave I-15 where along the hill upside from Baker, I experienced the car in front of me careen off the road and roll over about three times before coming to rest in the dusty center divide. It was so close ahead of me I literally blew through his dust cloud. After calling 911 and being convinced there was no way that driver could have survived that crash, I kept on going as the sun rise was just becoming evident off to the distance to the right of me. I arrived at my destination the Stardust Hotel, quickly got a Gin and Tonic, and sat down at the Five Times machine and promptly hit a jackpot of fifteen hundred dollars! Along comes this beautiful asian chick with beautiful long straight shiny black hair, in a little black dress (standard Vegas uniform for Vegas chicks). She asked me if I wanted any company.. Now being a married man somewhat unhappily, I gave the matter some quick consideration, however turned her offer down as a little bell went off inside my head sayin not a good idea, you just hit a jackpot, she knows how much you have just won.. "No thanks, I'm married" I told her. She just smiled and moved on.. The moral of this story? Don't trust anyone who approaches you when you win a jackpot, except the man who is coming to pay you your cash!!

This was a dumb article but it was fun reading all the comments!I think las vegas vice wrote this article in order to scare some people away from byeing sex but it wont work.To manny men has needs that some wifes cant fill.When you want sex but dont want to take the time to wine and dine and still might come up empty,you just find a working girl handle your bizz and go home like nothing ever happend!

I wouldn't say the Riviera would make a good site (A, It's not run down. B, the neighbors wouldn't stand for it and C, a regular mega-casino would likely want that spot in a couple decades). Between E Ogden Ave, LV Boulevard, the 95 and N Maryland Parkway would probably be the best area because of it's buffer zone between it and nearby schools and it's size. This is sin city, so we could get away with taxing/regulating prostitution. Because it is legal in the state, but not in the city, it is really our decision to make.

Using a system similar to what Nye county has, legalizing and taxing prostitution would not only reduce disease and abuse for all parties, but would also generate a fair amount of tax revenue. So long as the red light district was safe, secure and not gaudy or cheap, I would support it construction and might even make a casual proposal on site details.

All of the above applies to a Green Light district for the taxing and regulating of marijuana in Las Vegas as well. But that would take a lot more in the way of legal work and while Libertarians would probably back it in some way shape or form, Conservatives would have nothing to do with either a Red or Green light district(s).

look, the gambling / tourism / convention gravy train seems to have gone off the tracks and might take years for it to ever come back to the station.

our unemployment rate is one of the worst in the nation and if you think for a millisecond that city center is going to "get things running again"...you're a bumpkin.

i wish the sun would call all the u-haul and ryder truck rental companies in vegas and ask them how many trucks they have reserved for "one way" out of vegas in january when all the construction workers leave.

give me a FACTUAL reason ( not a MORAL reason ) why we should NOT legalize it?

would it be any worse than when the nba all-thug game was here?

we're all going to be sitting here next year with unemployment at 30% and people will still be saying "oh nooo...we can't have people having SEX in las vegas...oh nooooo. not in MY backyard."

WOMEN ARE DESIGNED TO BE VEHICLES OF PLEASURE & THATS THE WAY NATURE INTENDED THEM TO BE !!! & MEN ARE ALSO VEHICLES OF PLEASURE TO WOMAN !!! LEGALIZE NATURES CALLING & THE FINANCIAL - EMOTIONAL - SOCIAL & HEALTH BENEFITS WOULD BE ENORMOUS !!! - LETS GET REAL & STOP BEING HIPOCRITICAL -- THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY & 2000 YEARS AGO IN ROME - THEY WERE MORE CIVILIZED ABOUT NATURES CALLING THEN WE ARE TODAY !!! HOW ARCAYIC & SOCIALLY RETARDED !!! EVERY MAJOR HOTEL CASINO SHOULD HAVE ADULT SPA'S THAT CATER TO MEN WANTING WOMEN & WOMEN WANTING MEN !!! THEY SHOULD ALSO OFFER NORMAL ESCORT SERVICES TO GO TO SHOWS - DINING - DANCE LESSONS - & ANY OTHER HEALTHY & FUN ACTIVITIES - INCLUDING SHOPPING AT THE HOTEL MALLS !!! MONEY SHOULD BE USED FOR GOOD HEALTHY PLEASURE! I COULD EASILY LOSE $5,000.00 A NIGHT WHEN I PLAY BLACK JACK & ROULETTE !!! AT LEAST WITH THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL THAT LOOKS LIKE RAQUEL WELCH OR NATALIE WOOD I'M IN HEAVEN! THE GIRLS SHOULD BE IN THERE 20'S - 30'S & 40'SI APPRECIATE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN FROM 35 TO 48 YEARS OLD !!! -- THEY ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL & SOPHISTICATED & THEY ARE IN THE PRIME OF THERE WOMAN HOOD !!!

ATTENTION MISS PETER GUN -- YOR ARE WORRIED ABOUT BELAIR TYPING IN CAPS VS LOWER CASE !!! YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE WRONG THINGS !!! INTELLIGENT COMMENT IS KEY - YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN NOT CONTRIBUTE TO INTELLIGENT & SOPHISTICATED SUBJECT MATTER !!! YOU ARE TELEGRAPHING TO THE WHOLE WORLD YOU ARE IGNORANT & VERY LOW CLASS !! TRY TO RISE ABOVE YOUR CLASS LESS CLUE LESS STATE OF MIND & GROW UP !!!! & PER HAPS YOUR MEN FRIENDS WILL LIKE YOU MORE!! IN SOCIAL & BUSINESS SITUATIONS YOU PROBABLY USE FOWL LANGUAGE TO MAKE YOUR POINTS ! VERY UGLY YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE & DO NOT BLAME YOUR UP BRINGING ON YOUR DEFICIENCIES !!! YOUR GENETIC CODE IS FLAWED & MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME FROM VERY POOR BACKGROUNDS - HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RISE ABOVE & BECOME VERY HIGH CLASS PEOPLE IN MANNER AS WELL AS SPEACH !!! MONEY DOES NOT BUY CLASS - ITS REALLY IN THE GENETIC CODE & SOME TIMES BREEDING !!! EVERY BODY IN THE WORLD SHOULD HAVE YOUR SPOILED POROBLEMS !!!

BELAIR : You don't seem to understand that your knowledge and commentary defeat it's own purpose by YELLING in all caps. Chill out! and type in the proper text like everyone else does here.. What's the big deal?

ATTENTION MISS ENVIRONPROTECOR BELAIR RESPECTS YOUR COMMENT & UNDERSTANDS YOU ARE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE READING-- MY ALL CAPS TYPING STYLE !!! & YOU PERSONALLY BELIEVE I WOULD BENEFIT FROM USING LOWER CASE TYPING !!! BELAIR IS OBVIOUSLY MORE COMFORTABLE COMMUNICATING MY CONTENT TO ALL READERS WITH MY LARGE CAP TYPING STYLE !!! YOU APPEAR TO BE VERY INTELLIGENT WITH YOUR SUJESTIONS & I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WANTING TO UNSELFISHLY HELP ME !!! UNFORTUNATELY BELAIR HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN HIS BUSINESS BY COMMUNICATING VERY DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY BUSY WITH VERY SHORT ATTENTION SPANS !!! BELAIR WILL NOT CHANGE HIS STYLE FOR YOU OR ANY ONE ELSE -- RESPECTFULLY !!! IF MY STYLE & CONTENT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE -TRY NOT TO READ MY CONTENT - THAT WOULD BE THE BEST SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM OR ANY ONE ELSE'SPROBLEM !!! RESPECTFULLY YOURS - BELAIR --

I always find these "hard-hitting" and "seedy" articles regarding prostitution and the all the associated mischief (theft, pimp abuse, etc.) amusing and at the same time profoundly sad. In reading the comments that old American hang-up, sex between consenting adults, comes to the fore. The entire problem could be solved virtually overnight, which is of course, legalizing and licensing sex providers as most modern societies do. Not in America! Heavens no! Sex is bad especially when you pay for it, it exploits women, guys that have to pay for sex are losers, blahblahblah. Yet it seems to work ok in Canada and Europe, where the respective government can license and collect fees and taxes for an activity which will happen whether it is legal or not. It is the oldest profession after all and making it illegal will not make it go away. Just like Prohibition, once you legalize an activity(alcohol, drugs, prostitution, e.g.) the main sufferers are the profiteers (gangsters, pimps, etc.) that exploit the situation, i.e., the activtiy being illegal and therefore any person participating in the activity regards him or herself as a criminal and therefore "deserving" of the punishment and unpleasant risk that the activity includes.

And why? Because the American puritanical streak and nanny staters believe they know what is good for you and me better than we do ourselves.

Then again, this is a town where the police have an entire unit devoted to lounging in strip clubs and busting dancers for "inappropriate contact". Has anyone asked that detective that heads the Vice division how many man hours were devoted to cracking that case? I for one would like to know how much taxpayer money is going to vice officers sampling lap dances until one of them displeases the officer in some way, errrrr inappropriately contacts the officer and gets arrested.

I guess if we legalize prostitution and that terrible, horrible "inappropriate contact" were made legal, what would the Vice unit and Lt. Karen Hughes do all day... hmmm...oh yeah they would be investigating real crime. Yeah definitely wouldn't want that. Hey Vice Lt. Karen Hughes, I have a question...are there any job openings for a Vice Detective in your unit. I have some ahem "experience" with lap dances and I think I could be a major asset to your force. Let me know...I give the Sun my permission to give you my email addy or should I send you a resume?

tysuave77, I think most Las Vegan's agree on it because this issue is one of the few issues in Nevada were Libertarians and Liberals actually see eye to eye. Centrists and independents tend to be on the fence with this issue and Conservatives think prostitution is hyper-satanic mega-evil.

Libertarians want the government to stop wasting resources on something they feel should be an individuals choice. Liberals like myself tend to feel that it would be better to tax and regulate prostitution just like alcohol as opposed to outlawing it altogether.

The devil is in the details though. I would want to see mandatory STD testing for all prostitutes and I would like to see a Red Light district established. A prostitutes "Bill of Rights" would also be nice. Taxing should be vigorous enough that it pumps a fair amount of cash into the cities cash reserves.

ATTENTION MR. ENVIRONPROTECTOR --- PLEASE EXCEPT MY APPOLIGIES FOR NOT RECOGNIZING YOU ARE A MAN !!! MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE THAT HAVE TRIED TO CORRECT ME ABOUT MY - LARGE CAP TYPING STYLEHAVE BEEN WOMEN !!! I'M SURE MEN COULD BE JUST AS OFFENDED BY MY LARGE CAP STYLE AS WELL AS WOMEN !!! YOU OBVIOUSLY MEAN WELL - & I RESPECT YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY !!! IF THEY EVER LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION IN LAS VEGAS -BELAIR WOULD LIKE TO OWN ALL OF THE HIGHEST CLASS ADULT SPA'S IN ALL OF THE HIGHEST CLASS MEGA STRUCTURE HOTEL CASINOS !!! BELAIR WOULD DELIVER THE HIGHEST CLASS EXPERIENCE FOR MEN & WOMEN - THAT WOULD GO FAR BEYOND JUST - HARD CORE SEX !!! BELAIR WOULD HAVE MOVIE STAR LOOK A LIKES FROM THE PAST AS WELL AS THE PRESENT !!! I WOULD SPARE NO AMOUNT OF MONEY TO MAKE THE ENJOYABLE FANTASY EXPERIENCE FOR MEN & WOMEN- THE ULTIMATE & HAPPIEST EXPERIENCE - MENTALLY EMOTIONALLY & ROMANTICALLY - IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD & UNIVERSE !!!! SEX SELLS PARTICULARLY WELL COUPLED WITH - EXCLUSIVITY - QUALITY - MEDICALLY SAFE & ALL TYPES OF AMENITIES - THAT WILL APPEAL TO VERY DISCRETE WOMEN & MEN !!! - THE ESCORTS COULD BE RENTED BY THE HOUR OR THE DAY OR BY THE WEEK!!! A PRETTY WOMAN MOVIE FANTASY WOULD PROBABLY HAPPEN FROM TIME TO TIME !!!! WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS IN VEGAS !!!

Women do not believe it is at 75%... women are naive and think that their precious husbands would never do that. LOL... thing is, they nail a hooker and come home and nail their wife an hour later. If only they knew. I'm just trying to women up. Ladies... your man HAS paid for sex... and most likely within the last couple of months.

bldblu, it draws most comments for a variety of reasons. Much of the need from these women is natural,...you know boys & girls & why they were designed the way they are. Its a basic human need, only its much easier for the woman to provide it.

Beyond that we have divorce at 50%, & ladies who don't want strings attatched to any relationship. There are endless domestic disturbances nation wide for a variety of reasons. Couples just don't see eye to eye today about much of anything, but both have that basic need.

Financially our country is in shambles & it trickles down to married & couples living together creating stress. Sex relieves that & the working girl provides an outlet for the guy without saying she has a headache or had a long day, In many cases these providers provide for women too.

It is the worlds oldest profession but if regulated properly it doesn't need to be a filthy old profession because the need will NEVER go away.

Guys like to be in the company of a beautiful woman. Note I said beautiful women, & many street hookers are not beautiful regardless of how much one has had to drink or how dark the room is. I could point them out, but they know who they are. In general boys need girls, only in this country we make it illegal and dirty. It shouldn't be either.

It also shouldn't be $1,000 an hour & up as some across the rock charge. Sure those ladies are doing whats legally allowed & paying the house 50% but its their job. Some do it well, others not so well, & the one I met was beautiful, human, & sweet. She was fun & she was in my life for 6 months before I realized she was a user out to rob me in a different manner than lifting a wallet, a watch, or a pile of chips.

She quit the ranch, pretended to offer a future, including 2 great kids she said she loved. A lie. If she loved them she wouldn't use them to help rob a guy, pick his pocket & take it all. In every respect she was a beautiful woman I loved being with until my cash started running out, then, "suprisingly" her time did too. For me, I wish she would have been the right beautiful woman at the right time, only she had a motive well beyond employment at a ranch, so be aware. How many times she implemented her plan or how many times it worked on other men only she knows but it changed my life, & not in a positive way.

Perhaps by legalizing it many women in the business would simply be a provider of sex & not someone with other ideas based on lies and crime. Doing it the way its done today keeps the doors open to all kinds of sleezy (read: pimps)activities that could be eliminated with legalizlation. Law enforcement could then deal with fighting crime & crushing crooks, and taxes generated for the counties couldn't hurt either.

Something so natural between boys & girls shouldn't be something illegal or come with the fear of arrest or disease. It should be safe & fun,...but is it?

Leave the fowls out of it. They are not to blame. It's their leader, the infamous "Bird."

If you read the "Bird's" posts, you will discover that the "Bird" uses the word "whore" in just about every sentence of every post. He can even be talking about our good doctors and all of a sudden, the word "whore" just pops out. Maybe in the "Bird's" past life he sold himself to others. Kinda like today when he sold himself to Harry for a little of nothing. Anyway, I hear that he was laid off for failure to meet performance standards.

Doc Holliday, I must assume that you are in the 75 percent bracket that you scientifically studied. I've never even been in a strip club. I would agree with you that there are no doubt some guys out there paying for it. We call them LOSERS!